More strength to combat digital sexual violence
Sexual images distributed on the internet without consent are very serious acts that are rightly punishable as sexual offences. Victims often experience unjustified shame, psychological problems, isolation, depression and in some cases suicide. As well as finding and bringing the perpetrators to justice, it is also vital that these images are quickly removed from the internet. That is why the Justice Committee today approved a bill that will make it quicker and more effective for the courts to take such images offline. The same bill also provides for special investigative methods, such as the so-called "taping list", to be used in investigations into voyeurism and the distribution of sexual images without consent.
Stories of victims being digitally harassed, hounded and stalked for years because someone posted their naked images online without their permission are becoming increasingly common. Images of sexual assault and rape are also eagerly shared on sickening websites. The consequences for the victims are incalculable. Several teenagers and adults have dropped out of life in recent years because sexually explicit images were suddenly circulating digitally. Others have been traumatised for life and are unable to begin the process of recovery because the images have taken on a life of their own online.
Already explicitly criminalised
The "law to combat the non-consensual dissemination of sexually explicit images and recordings" of 4 May 2020 explicitly criminalises this. Not only the distribution of photos, videos and audio recordings, but also their transmission. The penalties are 1 to 5 years' imprisonment and fines of between €1,600 and €80,000. A conviction no longer has to be accompanied by a charge of voyeurism, which in some cases led to acquittals on purely legal grounds. After all, some images may have been taken with permission, but that does not mean that permission was ever given for them to be distributed. But from 1 July 2020, this problem will finally be a thing of the past.
Of course, criminalising the phenomenon is one thing. But it should also be possible to limit the consequences for the victim as soon as possible by taking the images offline immediately. Under the current procedure, the court can order this in summary proceedings against the service provider, specifically the internet platform where the images are posted. The images must be removed within 6 hours of being posted. However, after consultation with the various internet platforms, it appears that the order in summary proceedings is sometimes too vague, as the judge is not always in possession of the concrete details of the images. As a result, the online platforms do not have enough information about the exact image and its location on the website. This makes rapid removal difficult.
Minister Van Quickenborne and Secretary of State Marie-Colline Leroy, in consultation with the Internet companies Meta and Google, have therefore drafted a bill to amend the Judicial Code. These legislative changes are intended to optimise the procedure in summary proceedings so that internet platforms can be removed more quickly, to the benefit of victims.
Hash code
Specifically, the bill would require the judge in summary proceedings to ensure that the removal order sent to the internet company contains sufficient information, such as the URL or hash code of the images to be removed or the victim's contact details, so that the victim can provide additional information. If the court does not have this information, it should order any other holder to provide it. In this way, Internet companies themselves can intervene more quickly and appropriately. The hash code in particular is an important weapon in the fight against such images. It is a digital fingerprint that is assigned to images. Using this code, service providers can automatically search their platform.
Comprehensive 'wiretap list
Another part of the bill concerns the application of Article 90ter of the Code of Criminal Procedure, known as the 'wiretap list'. This list describes the offences for which the Ministry of Justice can use special investigative methods, such as tapping phones, intercepting communications, infiltrating chat groups or requesting the cooperation of telecom operators or Internet companies. Voyeurism and the distribution of non-consensual sexual content will be added to this list. This will give the police and judiciary more power to track down and prosecute perpetrators of digital sexual violence. This is an important weapon in the fight against the most organised forms of digital sexual violence.
Vincent Van Quickenborne, Minister for Justice: "Online sexual violence is a very serious social problem, which is only growing with the rise of social media. It needs to be dealt with more quickly and effectively. This Bill will ensure that judges can issue targeted orders to internet companies such as Meta and Google to remove images from their platforms. We are also giving the judiciary more powers to prosecute offenders by being able to identify them more quickly. For example, we can require internet companies to hand over details of those who distribute and even exploit these images.”
Secretary of State for Equality and Diversity: "Too often, victims of digital sexual violence still do not find help, partly because our legislation is not yet fully adapted to this new phenomenon. Following the modernisation of the Sexual Offences Act and the steps being taken to adapt general criminal law to digital sexual violence, this legislative change is an additional weapon for public services in the fight against digital sexual violence. This legislative change shows what is possible when all stakeholders work together with the same goal: to create a safe world for everyone.”
Child victims of digital sexual violence can get free and anonymous help from Child Focus (116 000), while adult victims can contact the Institute for Gender Equality (0800 12 800).
